Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Add carrot, onion, and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 8 minutes or until carrot is tender.

Step 4

Combine sausage, carrot mixture, quinoa, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper; stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Stuff about 1 cup quinoa mixture in each squash, and top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese. Arrange stuffed squashes in a broiler-safe baking dish, and place tops in dish. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from oven.

Ratings & Reviews

aplesauce's Review

ChefAmandaLynn's Review

Loved this, did make some modifications including using pork sausage and acorn squash. Did everything all in one pot, see full review at http://www.dishoverdinner.com/2013/11/quinoa-and-sausauge-stuffed-squash.html

cjayson8's Review

Delicious! Used 2 acorn squashes and microwaved for 11 minutes (wasn't enough time), used sun-dried tomato and spinach sausage from TJs, and pepper jack cheese (gave it a spicy kick), and added spinach. So filling and something I'd make again in a heartbeat. It did take a bit of time to throw together, but so worth it! I also roasted acorn squash seeds with Mrs. Dash for 15ish minutes as a snack.

ckrene's Review

I couldn't find golden nugget squashes so I substituted acorn squash. I've made this twice now and it is delicious! Besides the squash, I did not change anything. Acorn squash appear to have more "meat" than the golden nugget, being so, it is a complete meal that takes less than an hour to prepare and has loads of visual appeal as well!! Like other cooked the quinoa in chicken stock to add flavor, also my hand held Cuisinart chopper made quick work of the carrots. Try this, it's outstanding!

gardenjunkie77's Review

I used this recipe for stuffed bell peppers. I substituted ingredients with hot chicken sausage and red onion, and I think it turned out great. I'd like to try it with squash next time ( when I have more time to cook.)

dshadd's Review

LoniRV's Review

Wow! This was AMAZING!! I served this alone and my boyfriend and I were stuffed. I did make some modifications to the recipe, which I think made the meal:
1. Instead of hot turkey sausage I used the same amount of pork chorizo. This gave the dish a nice spicy flavor.
2. I added dried cranberries to the dish while I was sauteing the carrots, onions, and garlic. They got a little bit of flavor this way and then re-constituted when the 1/2 cup of water came to a boil. This gave the dish a little bit of sweet/sour zip.
3.. I used maybe a 1/3 of the cheese the recipe called for. It doesn't need that much, and it helps cut back on some the calories added by the pork.
4. While the water was boiling, I candied walnuts. I used these to top off the mixture after I added it to the squash (instead of cheese).
Both my boyfriend and I really loved the taste of this meal, and the squash turned out perfect too! I used acorn squash and they were great. Highly recommend!

detailaddict's Review

I really liked the idea of this (hence the four stars), but it wasn't as good as it could have been. The filling was a bit salty, possibly because I used homemade turkey sausage, so next time I would cut the salt in half or omit entirely. Also I had to substitute golden acorn squashes, which had a stringy texture and lacked flavor. The main benefit for now is that this is VERY filling - neither of us could finish our servings. I served this with CL Swiss Chard with Creme Fraiche (same issue). I would try this again (even though the husband was nonplussed), but with a different squash.

skspillman's Review

These are amazing! This would be the perfect meal to serve at a fall dinner party--definitely impressive! I used 2 acorn squash and 2 golden nugget. I added a cup of chopped celery and doubled the filling recipe. (I served it as leftovers without squash and it was delicious.) I will definitely make these again. They were very filling and hearty. The squash cooked to a smooth, buttery consistency that was delicious when scooped out with the filling.